INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers might not be featured in some of the marquee events on the NBA's regular season calendar such as the opening night or Christmas Day games, but there is clear evidence in Thursday's schedule release that they raised their profile with last year's Eastern Conference finals run. Here's what you need to know about their slate for the 2024-25 season.
How often and when are the Pacers on national TV?
In recent seasons the Pacers have at least begun the season with little to no national TV exposure. In 2021-22 they had one game set to be televised on TNT that was actually taken away from them. In 2022-23 they had one game on ESPN in October and didn't have another on either that network or on TNT the rest of the season. Even last season they began the year with just one game scheduled on TNT on Jan. 30 against the Celtics in Boston and none on ESPN. They earned three more by reaching the finals of the inaugural In-Season Tournament, then had a game in February against the Pelicans flexed into an ESPN time slot before finally getting plenty of attention during the playoffs.
This year they start the season with five games already set to be on ESPN and four on TNT, plus an additional five games on NBA TV. The nine games between ESPN and TNT mark the most since the 2018-19 season when they had 12 between the two networks and ABC.
They'll be nationally televised twice in the season's first five games -- first in an Eastern Conference semifinals rematch against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, then in an Eastern Conference finals rematch on Oct. 30 at home against the Celtics at 7 p.m., also on ESPN.
They will later be televised on ESPN on Nov. 22 in their NBA Cup group play game against the Bucks in Milwaukee at 7:30 p.m., then on Jan. 25 at noon against the Spurs in Paris, and on March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at home against the Lakers. Their TNT-broadcast games will be Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. at home against the Cavaliers, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at home against the Knicks, March 11 at 7 p.m. at home against the Bucks and April 10 at 7 p.m. at home against the Cavaliers.
The NBA TV games are Dec. 23 at Golden State, Dec. 26 at home against Oklahoma City, Dec. 27 at Boston, Jan. 23 against the Spurs in Paris and March 20 at home against the Nets.
Pacers schedule 2025: Here's when the Indiana Pacers play in the 2024-25 NBA season
When are the opener and home opener?
The Pacers begin the season on Oct. 23 against the Pistons in Detroit. After that Oct. 25 game against the Knicks in New York they host Philadelphia at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 for the home opener, welcoming former Pacers All-Star Paul George back to Indy as he begins his first season in Philly.
When are the preseason games?
The Pacers play the Hawks on the road on Oct. 8 and the Cavaliers on the road on Oct. 10 before playing Memphis at home on Oct. 14 and Charlotte at home on Oct. 17.
When are the playoff rematches?
As previously mentioned, the Pacers get their first crack at the defending champion Celtics -- who swept the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals -- at home on Oct. 30. That's the only time they'll see the Celtics at home this season unless they meet in the In-Season Tournament knockout round. They play in Boston on a two-games-in-three-nights stand after Christmas on Dec. 27 and Dec. 29.
The Pacers also meet the Knicks three times after knocking them out in a seven-game classic in the Eastern Conference semifinals. After that Oct. 25 game in New York on ESPN, they play in Indianapolis on Nov. 10 and then again on Feb. 11. The Knicks, of course, added former Nets wing Mikal Bridges in an offseason trade and should also have healthy versions of Julius Randle and O.G. Anunoby by then.
They meet their Central Division rival Milwaukee four times after taking the Bucks down in six games in last year's first round. Along with the Nov. 22 game in NBA Cup group play, they meet in Indy on Dec. 31 at 3 p.m., in Indy again on March 11 and then in Milwaukee on March 15. The Pacers beat the Bucks four times in five regular season games last year, but were fortunate enough to avoid facing then-injured Giannis Antetokounmpo in the playoffs.
When do they play the other Eastern Conference contenders?
The 76ers' addition of Paul George and the presumed return of a healthy Joel Embiid should make them one of the Eastern Conference favorites along with the Celtics, Pacers, Knicks and Bucks. Along with the Oct. 27 home opener, the Pacers will see the 76ers on Jan. 18 at home and March 14 in Philadelphia.
The Magic reached the playoffs with a young squad last season after an extended period in the wilderness and added guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the offseason to stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Pacers meet them Oct. 28 and Nov. 13 in Orlando and April 11 at home.
The Cavaliers were last year's No. 4 seed, beating the Magic in the first round before losing to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers get that divisional foe Jan. 12 in Cleveland, Jan. 14 in Indy, April 10 in Indy again and April 13 in the regular season finale at Cleveland.
The Heat, the last team to reach last year's Eastern Conference playoffs but the 2022-23 Eastern Conference champions, come to Indiana for a two-game set Nov. 15 and 17 with the first as part of NBA Cup group play, then host the Pacers on Jan. 2 and Feb. 28
When do they play the best teams and stars in the West?
The Eastern Conference has plenty of superstars including Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia's Embiid, Boston's Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and New York's Jalen Brunson, but often the hottest tickets for Pacers games are for the legacy stars from the West who only come to town once a year. Here's when those stars will play the Pacers and be in Indy.
LeBron James: The NBA's all-time leading scorer will bring his Lakers to Indy on March 26. The Pacers play them in L.A. on Feb. 8.
Stephen Curry: The Pacers host Curry, the NBA's all-time leading 3-point shooter, and the Warriors on Jan. 10 after playing them in San Francisco on Dec. 23. Curry will be playing with former Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield, not to mention former IU All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Kevin Durant: Team USA's all-time leading scorer will be in Indy with the Suns on Jan. 4 after the Pacers play the Suns on Dec. 19 in Phoenix.
Nikola Jokic: The Pacers will host the reigning MVP and the Nuggets on Feb. 24. They go to Denver on April 6.
Luca Doncic: The first-team All-NBA guard will be in Indy with the Western Conference champion Mavericks on March 19. The Pacers will play them in Dallas on Nov. 4.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: The Pacers face the runner-up for last year's MVP and the Thunder at home on Dec. 26, then play them in Oklahoma City on March 29.
What are the Pacers' toughest stretches?
The Pacers will catch a nice break if they happen to return to the In-Season Tournament finals in Las Vegas as their next game after the Dec. 17 title game is on Dec. 19 on the road against Phoenix. That would cut back travel time significantly, but it would also make for a very long western road trip as they follow that with a back to back against Sacramento on Dec. 22 and Golden State on Dec. 23. They return home for one game against Oklahoma City on Dec. 26 but then face Boston for two games in three nights on Dec. 27 and 29 and come home to face Milwaukee on New Year's Eve before going back out to Miami on Jan. 2 and returning home to face the Suns again on Jan. 4.
They also have a tough stretch in early March. After two games in three nights in Atlanta on March 6 and 8, they go to Chicago on March 10, play Milwaukee at home March 11, then go on the road to play at Philly on March 14, at Milwaukee on March 15 and at Minnesota on March 17.
How many back-to-backs?
The Pacers are set to play on back-to-back days 14 times this season.
Their first comes early -- Oct. 27 at home against Philadelphia and Oct. 28 at Orlando. On Nov. 17, they play Miami at home then face the Raptors in Toronto on Nov. 18. They have a home back-to-back against the Wizards and Pelicans on Nov. 24 and 25, then road back-to-backs against the Raptors and Nets on Dec. 3 and 4 and the Kings and Warriors on Dec. 22 and 23. They play the Thunder at home on Dec. 26, then head to Boston on Dec. 27 for the first of two games in three days against the Celtics.
The Pacers don't have a back-to-back in January but they have three in February. On Feb. 3 and 4, they play the Jazz in Utah and the TrailBlazers in Portland. After that Feb. 11 nationally televised game against the Knicks, they play the Wizards on Feb. 12 in Washington D.C. After the All-Star break, they play the Clippers and Nuggets at home on Feb. 23 and 24.
In March, they have back-to-back back-to-backs. They play the Bulls in Chicago on March 10 then the Bucks at home on March 11. They're off March 12 and 13, but then have a road back-to-back on March 14 against the 76ers in Philadelphia and the Bucks in Milwaukee on March 15. They have a home back-to back against the Mavericks and Nets on March 19 and 20. After the home game against the Lakers on March 26, they play the Wizards on the road on March 27. The last back-to-back is in the stretch run April 10 and 11 at home against playoff teams the Cavaliers and Magic.
How does the schedule break down as a whole?
The schedule is heavy on road games early in the process, in part because of the breakdown of the NBA Cup schedule and to make room for the nationally televised games. The Pacers are on the road for 10 of their first 16 games, 14 of their first 24 and 16 of their first 29 scheduled games. The balance could obviously change depending on their In-Season Tournament performance as they could end up with another home and/or road game the week of Dec. 10-17 and could also end up with a game or two in Las Vegas.
The balance shifts in the second half of the season, particularly after the All-Star Break. They are at home for six of their first seven games after the Feb. 13-19 break and 18 of 29 total games after the break.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers schedule 2025: Increased national attention in 2024-25 schedule
